The following are a few facts that if Accepted as true, will shorten your journey to happiness.
- Accept the fact that everything and anything you have done to survive and get to this point in your life was necessary.
- Accept the fact that throughout your life you will probably always be affected by your sexual abuse experiences.
- Accept the fact that the only way to get over the abuse is to go through it.
- Accept the fact that as you journey to your recovery, your personal relationships will be affected. Some will go away.
- Accept the fact you may need individual counseling and/or group therapy and/or a support group or even medication along your journey to recovery.
- Accept the fact that as you journey to recovery in the early days, the physical, mental, and emotional pain will be so bad you may feel like running away or killing yourself. Don’t! It’s part of the journey.
- Accept the fact that as you journey, you will be Scared, feel Unsettled, Unfocused, feel Unloved, Misunderstood, Overwhelmed, Sick, Enraged, and everything you ever thought you knew, you don’t. This is also a part of the journey.
- Accept the fact you will have to share the complete details of your sexual abuse at least once. Three times would be better.
- Accept the fact your family, partner or closet friend may never respond or react in quit the way you need them too nor when you need them too. You may have to construct a new family.
- Accept the fact a belief in a higher power may help you through your darkest and brightest times.
- Accept the fact your journey to normalcy may take years of consistent work. Why shouldn’t it, you suffered a major trauma.
- Accept the fact you will have to totally reprogram your thinking.
- Accept the fact there may come a time when you may need to be alone, not lonely, to find your true, authentic self.
- Accept the fact that everything that previously worked to keep your anxiety, memories, sadness, depression, fear, etc. in control will eventually stop working. Even if you do it more.
Once you have sincerely accepted the above facts, your energies should then be focused on:
- Identifying your triggers.
- Managing your triggers (defense strategies)
- Remembering The Promises and Permissions
- Sharing your story
Excerpt from There IS Happiness After Incest And Child Sexual Abuse, CeCe Norwood, MA